8 teens on La Brea Tar Pits trip hospitalized after ingesting ‘cannabis edibles,’ Fire Dept. says
Eight high school students on a school trip at the La Brea Tar Pits were hospitalized Tuesday afternoon after apparently ingesting cannabis edibles, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
Los Angeles firefighters responded to a call at 12:45 p.m. about three unconscious teenage boys at 5801 W. Wilshire Blvd., said Brian Humphrey, an L.A. Fire Department spokesperson. He said a security guard for the park called about the teens.
Upon arriving, firefighters found the three along with five others, including boys and girls, Humphrey said. The eight young people were experiencing an “altered level of consciousness” after they apparently ingested “cannabis edibles,” he said.
More than 11% of high school seniors said in a national survey that they had used delta-8 THC, a psychoactive compound that is derived from hemp, in the last year.
Amy Hood of the Natural History Museum of L.A. County, which oversees the La Brea Tar Pits, said in a statement to The Times that several high school students were on a chaperoned field trip to the Tar Pits when they became ill.
“Our staff acted quickly to assess the situation and seek medical aid,” Hood wrote. “According to first responders, their symptoms were caused by something the students ingested on their own, unrelated to the visit to La Brea Tar Pits.”
L.A. fire paramedics took the eight people to a nearby hospital. Their conditions were unknown.
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